Business confidence in Western Cape limited, says ActionSA

• Published date: 20 April 2024
• Author: Zolani Sinxo
• Publication title: Weekend Argus

The BCI reported a 3-point uptick in confidence levels in the Western Cape, from 2023 (Q4) to 2024 (Q1), improving from 37 points to 40 out of a possible 100

DA MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenge said that when the BCI was combined with the fact that four out of five (78.9%) of all net jobs created in the past five years were in the Western Cape, “we get a good indication that our economic action plan, (Growth for Jobs’ which seeks to enable private-sector-led growth to achieve a R1 trillion, jobs-rich, diverse, resilient, and thriving economy, growing at between 4% and 6% by 2035), is having an impact”.

“This is the third-consecutive increase in business confidence in the province and the longest sustained increase in Western Cape business confidence since Q2 of 2018. It is also notable that Western Cape business confidence far exceeds its provincial counterparts, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, who are at 23 and 18 points, respectively, for the same period.

“Make no mistake, we have a lot more work to do. But this tells us that the policies, plans and actions taken by the Western Cape government to enable the private sector to do what it does best – grow and create jobs – are having a positive impact on businesses in the province,” said Wenger.

Matthew George, ActionSA Western Cape spokesperson, said the party welcomed the indication that business confidence was rising in the province.

“However, businesses on the periphery of the city, the outlying areas in these conversations, face myriad challenges, some of which make their daily operations impossible.”

George said that coupled with the reality that...